It Looks Like the Rules of Rent Control Are About to Change

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For the first time in decades, it looks as though rent-control advocates might get their way. Since 1993, state law has enabled landlords to convert any vacant rent-controlled apartments into regular, market-rate units when their rents hit $2,000 a month. That provision allowed landlords to deregulate at least 100,000 apartments. But the rent-control law, which affects about 1 million apartments citywide, is up for renewal or elimination. Advocates naturally want to eliminate landlords’ ability to convert rent-stabilized apartments to market-rate ones, or at least increase the $2,000 cap. A higher cap would slow the rate at which apartments are deregulated — something the real-estate industry had fought hard resist. But it looks like the tides are changing. First Governor Cuomo, who had the option of coming out against rent regulation altogether, said publicly that he supports it in some form. Now, with the understanding that the law would be extended, rather than repealed, a powerful landlord group has signaled that they’re open to the increasing the $2,000threshold.

The rest of the package that Spinola’s referring to is property taxes. During a press conference last week, Cuomo linked the idea of rent regulation and a 2 percent cap on property taxes — a little bit whole lot of sugar to sweeten the deal for the real-estate industry. Well, you knew there had to be a catchsomewhere.